New Delhi: India is hopeful that China may finally vote in favour of listing Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist on 13 March at the United Nations 1267 ISIL and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee, official sources have told ThePrint.
The government, sources said, has even given “substantial evidence” to the UN Security Council this time, which it had also shared with Pakistan, on the whereabouts of Azhar, the mastermind of several attacks in India.
Sources added that India has shared the dossier with all the key countries, including China, and they have time till Wednesday, 13 March, to raise objection against the proposal floated by the US, the UK and France last week to designate Azhar as a global terrorist. If no countries object by that deadline, the UN will formally impose sanctions on him.
“Not just Pakistan, China has also come under pressure internationally to designate Azhar and not exercise its veto. Intense back-channel talks are going on and some crucial intelligence inputs have been shared with China, which have also been shared with other P-5 members (US, UK, France and Russia),” said a top official.
“Countries like the UK and France have also shared evidence of JeM’s terrorist activities with the UN. So it is going to be very difficult for China to not to support the proposal.”
Last Saturday, Raveesh Kumar, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, had said: “All members of the UNSC are aware about Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps in Pakistan and about the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed and his presence in Pakistan. We call upon all members of UNSC to list Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist under 1267 UN Sanctions Committee.”
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China’s stand
China has thrice opposed designating Azhar as an ‘international terrorist’ at the UN citing lack of evidence against him as the reason. But this time, sources said, China will not be in a position to give that excuse to block the proposal to tag Azhar as an ‘international terrorist’.
China called out the JeM for the first time after the Pulwama attack, as part of the UNSC statement condemning the terror strike, which was signed by all its 15 permanent and non-permanent members.
Speaking about previous moves to designate Azhar, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday: “China’s position on the designation of a terrorist by the 1267 Sanctions Committee is consistent and clear. China adopted a responsible attitude, follows the rules of the procedure of the committee and participated in the discussions in a responsible manner. Only through discussions can we come up with a responsible solution.”
Last week, Chinese deputy foreign minister Kong Xuanyou travelled to Pakistan and held talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson said of the visit: “We have engaged in mediation efforts with both sides (India and Pakistan) and held talks to promote the easing of tensions. We made enormous efforts. While exchanging ideas security is an important topic and I can say that our talks were wide ranging and quite deep.”
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What happens if UN 1267 Committee designates Azhar?
As per the UN, once the UN 1267 ISIL and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee designates an individual as a global terrorist, it imposes a travel ban, freezes assets and puts an embargo on arms.
Azhar’s JeM, which is already proscribed by the UN since 2002, was also responsible for the 2001 attack on India’s Parliament, besides other terrorist activities in J&K. As a result, India has been pushing to list Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN for a long time now.
“The fact that Pakistan has been trying to get out of this and opposing the designation of Masood Azhar as designated terrorist under 1267 committee speaks for itself,” said MEA spokesperson Kumar.
“There are several things which come with the designation, and that is the reason why we have been kind of working with international partners to ensure that Masood Azhar is designated as a terrorist under the UNSC 1267 committee.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said in interviews to BBC and CNN that Azhar is residing in that country and is unwell. He is apparently undergoing treatment in an Army hospital there, sources said.
Prudence dictates India stops Harping on China to fight terrorism emanating Pakistan soil.Like Israel we need to fight our own battle even if it is at cost of displeasing China.